Ok...new tank is up...and...

[Magnus]

Hey everyone,

Great forum first off.

I have some questions, but I'll tell you what my set up is and go from there.

- 55 galon tank, with 1 protein skimmer, 1 pump and filter, 1 powerhead.
- tap water was used (I found out after that this is very risky! crap!) I also am not sure what exactly is in the water in terms of chlorine/chloramine or other elements.
- 4-5 inches deep of substrate (crushed shells and argonite, and 1 small bag of live sand).
- 50 lbs of base rock, and a measly 3 lbs of live rock.
- live rock was supposedly kept in darkness for about 2-3 weeks prior to me purchasing it.
- tank has been set up now for about a month and a half...the live rock has been in for about 2.5 weeks.

A couple questions.

1. Is the 3 lbs of live rock ok to begin with, and will it spread fast enough to the base rock in order to act as a filter for the water?

2. I've read that white patches on live rock isn't necessarily a bad thing (see 2nd photo near the red circle), I've developed some on mine. Green and purple algae is starting to grow on those spots...but should there be other types of growth?

3. I bought one of those paper strip test kits. So far Nitrates and Nitrites are at 0. However the water is showing to be very "hard". Is this a problem? (also, salt levels are right where they should be).

4. There is some good growth of algae, green and purple and now some string algae on the left hand live rock, but the right hand one doesn't seem to be coming as far along. Any ideas?

5. Air bubbles seem to get trapped in the algae (see second photo, red circle)...how come? Is that ok?

I guess that's it for now...my main concern is the growth of things on the live rock. Oh, and a week ago or so I had a bad brown algae spurt, but it's leveled out now. I also read this isn't a bad thing.

Thanks in advance for the help!

PS - I'll have some updated pics this coming week...my g/f took the digital camera away with her this week-end. These pics are about a week and a half old.

 

[ThatGuy619]

that looks like red algae attached air bubbles. i had that in my fuge until i turned up the water flow. whats your flow like in your tank

 

[ThatGuy619]

i would probably add 2 more power heads

 

[CaPoNe]

yea def seems like you need a lil more circulation. Have you tried the new hydor koralia's? They are really good at moving water and using up a lot of less engergy!

 

[Tank2379]

Hello, Welcome 2 AA...

I think your OK with your set up I think you should have a little bit more water flow to get rid of the red hair algae your water flow should be between 400- 600gph of water flow especially in that size of a Tank. But first off are you doing FOWLR? Are you considering a Reef Aquarium? You might want to check your Cal, Mag, PHos, and Alk levels if you want to have good Coraline growth or if your considering a Reef Aquarium.... But especially check your Calcium levels your Coraline will thrive for it and will grow everywhere.... Have you cycled your Tank yet? You must cycle before you put any fish in.. Make sure your Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate are all at 0. But lets see what these other guys have to say you get a lot more advice about your set-up.....

 

[Magnus]

Ok, so increase my water flow...another 1-2 power heads.

I'll have to get test kits for the calcium and magnesium and get back to you guys with numbers. What is FOWLR?

Tank is cycling now...

Thanks for the replies so far!

 

[Tank2379]

What is FOWLR?

Fish Only With Live Rock..... Sorry....

 

[melosu58]

As far as the LR you have two definitions of live. The first one is the most important and that "live" means that it has plenty of nitrifying bacteria on it to complete the nitrogen cycle in your tank. It will consume the Ammonia and turn it into nitrite which in turn will turn it into nitrate. That`s the important one. Your BR will eventually become Live over time and you could even do it without any LR. The 2nd meaning of "Live" is the different forms of hitchikers that come in on your LR. They must come in on Live rock from other tanks or the ocean. I doubt from them two small pieces of LR that you will get much but I`m sure you`ll get some. You need several pieces so that the hitchikers will maybe leave the original pieces and find home in your BR. You can see many of the hitchikers that come in your LR in this link.

Xtalreef

Also your red spots with bubbles is cyano. Read this on how to take care of it.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articles/articles/20/1/Cyanobacteria-AKA-Red-Slime-Algae-/Page1.html

 

[roka64]

What are you using as an ammonia source? If you are not planning on a reef at this time, you may not need the Ca, Alk or mag tests.

 

[Magnus]

Yes, this will be a FOWLR tank! Thanks for the explanation on that.

I'm not planning on a reef with corals...just the live rock with the fish. I'll see how things go for now.

As for ammonia...well, I'm not sure...won't the dead waste from the LR act as an ammonia source? Should I be adding anything else to the water?

Also, is tap water ok for my PWC's? I used tap water to begin with...Oh, and the tank water is very hard considering it came from the tap...is this bad?

 

[Magnus]

Ok...reading more here...should I start with a fish right now, like a clown and maybe an emerald crab or two, to start the actual cycling process? Like I said, the tank has been up for a month and a half, the live rock has been in for about 2 or so weeks.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Your tank still needs to cycle, and you can do it a lot easier by throwing in an ammonia source that's not alive! Check out this article...

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articles/articles/3/1/Cycle-your-salt-tank/Page1.html

... and use a cocktail shrimp, or even fish food. After 3-4 days you should see your ammonia levels start to rise, followed in a few weeks by your nitrite levels. As the nitrite levels rise, your ammonia levels will drop off. Eventually, after 4-6 weeks, your ammonia and nitrite levels will be at zero, and you should have some measurable nitrates in your tank. After a couple 30% water changes to bring the nitrate levels down as low as you can, then your tank is cycled.

It's much easier (for both you AND the fish!) to use the "fishless" method of cycling as you can just let the cycle run its natural course. When people cycle with fish, the extra water changes and additional chemicals they may use only prolong the cycle, cost more money, and in the end the fish may die from ammonia poisoning anyway.

 

[Magnus]

Thanks for the advise Kurt!

Thanks to everyone else as well!

 

[CaPoNe]

Tap water is not a very good first choice Mag.. There are all sorts of heavy metals and such in the water that comes from the faucet that in turn wont be the best for your fishies health. I would go to your local fish store and see if they have RO or better yet RO/DI water that you can buy. Alot of fish stores have this inlcuding the one i work at. If that is a no go then your next best bet is to go to the local grocery store and buy Distilled water! Happy Saltwatering!!!

 

[Magnus]

Yeah...chock this one up to "I'll know for next time..."

 

[CaPoNe]

Didnt know if you knew or not, but you can start now, each time you do a gravel siphon or water change which im sure your doing, just add RO/DI OR RO water back in

 

[Magnus]

Good idea! Ok, I'll go see if I can get RO water at the LFS...if not I'm sure some of the water supply stores in my area should have it. If not, yeah I've seen the big bottles of distilled at my local grocery store.

 

[Ziggy953]

Check on ebay for an RO/DI filter. They aren't very expensive and will end up saving you a ton of money over buying water from your LFS. You really want RO/DI not just RO.

Keep reading through those articles they will answer a lot of your questions and the ones they don't, post them here and we will help you along the way.

 

[mike47517]

only fish with the live rock nothin else.

 

[Magnus]

Ok, thanks for the tip Ziggy.